Deer hunting is a multi-million dollar sport, with some of the most expensive equipment and gear. For many years, hunters have utilized automatic deer feeders, which are timed to disperse various types of deer feed, such as corn, out of a container onto the ground to attract the deer to a desired hunting location. Such feeders are also used on farms and ranches to automatically feed livestock at designated times.
Generally, such feeders comprise a large barrel-like container in which the feed is stored, where the container is raised many feet from the ground through the use of tripod stilts or hung from a tree. At the bottom of the feed barrel, there is a hole through which the feed drops onto a timed and motorized dispenser, which is activated at desired times during the day and has a rotating fan-like mechanism to disperse the feed over a large area on the ground around where the feeder is located.
The problem with such feeders is the difficulty in replenishment of the feed into the barrel. The feed barrel has a lid that is tightly fastened to the barrel, which must first be removed. Then the person replenishing the feed into the barrel must pour the feed from a feed sack into the barrel. This can be especially problematic for those types of feeders that are raised from the ground on legs or stilts, since the person must position a tall ladder near the barrel, climb the ladder with a heavy feed bag (e.g., 50 pounds), unfasten the lid, and then hoist the bag so that the feed pours into the barrel. Many such barrels are fairly large, and this process may have to be repeated several times in order to fill the feed barrel. Furthermore, on large hunting ranches, this process may take several hours as the hunters travel around the property to each of the deer feeders to replenish the feed inside. As can be expected with such an endeavor, accidents can occur, and when they do, there is the issue that the injured person is far from a hospital.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved apparatus and method for replenishing feed stock into an automatic feeder.